Early detection is key to beating cancer, Cancer Council SA says
The charity will bring a roadshow to Murray Bridge to encourage locals to get screened for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.
If you’ve been meaning to get that breast, cervical or bowel cancer screening done but haven’t got around to it, the Cancer Council SA is coming to help.
A roadshow at Murray Bridge Club next Wednesday afternoon will give locals all the information they could need about how to prevent cancer, the importance of early testing and where to get it.
Cancer kills almost 50,000 Australians every year, yet local testing rates – particularly for cervical cancer – have fallen behind the state average.
Just over 44 per cent of eligible local women were up-to-date with their cervical screenings, the Cancer Council said, compared with a state average of 50.3%.
Testing rates for breast and bowel cancer were both around the state average, but about half of eligible locals were still not up to date.
Nine out of 10 breast cancer patients survived for at least five years if the cancer was detected early, the Cancer Council SA’s Tamara Shipley said.
A similar proportion of bowel cancers could be treated if they were caught early enough.
Early screening saved hundreds of South Australian lives each year.
“If you want to find out more about cancer screening, or are unsure about how to get screened, then this session is for you,” she said.
“By increasing screening rates across regional South Australia, we can help catch cancer in the early stages and save more South Australian lives.”
The following people are eligible for free cancer screenings:
- Breast cancer: women aged 50-74, every two years
- Cervical cancer: women aged 25-74 who have been sexually active at any point, every five years
- Bowel cancer: anyone aged over 50, every two years
Ms Shipley encouraged anyone in the eligible groups, or with friends or family who were, to come and find out more between 2 and 4pm next Wednesday, April 21.
- More information: Visit www.cancersa.org.au, email prevention@cancersa.org.au or call 8291 4269.
- Register for the roadshow: www.eventbrite.com.au.
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